


Fate entwined, like string

by Mustardcustard



Series: Mustardcustard's Zukka Week Drabbles [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, I said so so she will, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Tattoos, Yue (Avatar) Lives, Zukka Week 2021, fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 04:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30100113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mustardcustard/pseuds/Mustardcustard
Summary: Sokka is matched.A big fat fire symbol on his face.But hey, it can't be so bad, can it?
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Mustardcustard's Zukka Week Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213151
Comments: 4
Kudos: 83





	Fate entwined, like string

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really disappointed with this one but I'm posting it bc I want to complete Zukka week. So... again I know I'm late but I tried to make this decent and I failed miserably so... here you go!
> 
> also make sure you find me on Tumblr @mustardcustardworks ;D

Sokka remembers the feeling of his tattoo printed into his face, right after Zuko had kicked him. He lay in the snow for a while, reveling in the feeling of the cold seeping into his pained skin, only to get up when he heard the shrieks of his tribe. He didn’t know it at the time, but that was when he would be forever connected with his soulmate, the moment when fates were intertwined. 

“Sokka…” Katara said uneasily while they sat on Appa. She was holding her left hand in her own, where the air emblem was printed on her palm. He looked up at her with mild interest, wondering why she was so concerned. “Your face…” 

“Oh wow. That’s...” Aang said from his perch on the saddle. He too had a tattoo, a water symbol on the back of his head. Katara and him were matched, and Sokka tried not to think too hard that the one hundred and twelve year old Avatar was his sister’s soulmate. “...something.”

“What? What is it?” Sokka asked as he brought his hand up to touch his cheek. Katara bent some water clumsily out of her pouch, holding it steady enough for Sokka to see the big, red fire emblem on his cheek. 

_ Oh no, this is bad. This is really, really bad.  _

“Do you know which Fire Nation soldier touched you on the cheek? They all seemed pretty old.” Katara bent the water back into her pouch, a few stray water droplets falling onto the saddle. 

“Except for Prince Zuko.” Aang said tilting his head. 

“Prince who-a-what-now?” Sokka asked him, rubbing his thumb over his cheek. Having a Fire Nation soulmate tattoo, let alone having a Fire Nation  _ soulmate _ , was not something he was expecting to be widely accepted. 

"Prince Zuko, the prince of the Fire Nation. He was the one who was leading the attack on the village. I found out he was the prince when I was aboard his ship.” Sokka felt his stomach drop. 

“He kicked you in the face when you attacked him… didn’t he?” Katara asked as she raised her eyebrow, staring at Sokka who had his eyes wide. 

“No no no no no. No!” Sokka got up with a start, pacing around the saddle, “There has to be some other explanation for this! I am not the soulmate of some… Fire Nation royalty that attacked my tribe! It was probably just a coincidence. I don’t even know if I like guys-”

“That's a lie.” Katara sneered at him as she crossed her arms. 

“But he’s evil! He threatened to hurt Gran-Gran for the Avatar! Threatened the whole village! Aang is twelve-”

“One hundred and twelve, actually.” Aang supplied for him with his finger up. 

“Still! He. Tried. To. Kid. Nap. You. He, and I cannot stress this enough, is not my soulmate.” Sokka sat back down, turning his cheek away from them before rummaging through their belongings. 

“What are you looking for?” Katara asked him with a questioning tone. 

“War paint. So I can cover this horrible mark up.” Sokka didn’t look back at her, just bringing a bag to the saddle so he could look through it easier. 

“I didn’t pack any. Sokka, this mark is one of love and joy, being tied to the person you are destined to be with, even if they are quite problematic.” Katara tried to reason with him, but Sokka found a pallet of face paint and started applying the most neutral shade to his cheek. 

“Katara they killed our mom, they took away Dad, I can’t be with someone who is associated with that.” Katara’s eyes hardened, but she nodded and even helped to smooth the paint over his face and mix it with some white so it would appear lighter and more like his natural skin. 

Whenever they made camp in some clearing of the woods, Sokka would go down to the nearest body of water and wash off his face while he gathered some drinking water they could boil and drink. Katara and Aang almost always had their tattoos glowing, due to the fact they were in close proximity with their soulmate, so with this knowledge they determined that whenever Sokka’s tattoo would glow, Zuko would be nearby and they either had to hide or escape before it was too late. 

The one time that Sokka went into a town without his war paint was when they stopped at a village to get some supplies, and the entire time Earth Kingdom citizens were whispering around him, pointing fingers and even yelling and shouting at him, which did nothing to boost his confidence about being the soulmate of someone from the Fire Nation. From then on he always made sure to put his war paint on, and if there was a bit of the tattoo that was visible Katara and Aang made sure to warn him and fix it. 

War paint was easy to smudge though, especially in battle. So there were many close calls with Zuko before he joined their side. 

They were sitting outside at their camp after Azula had attacked the Western Air Temple, laying on a rock and talking about family issues. Ever since Sokka had opened up to Zuko about losing his mom, they found they had a lot more in common than they realized. They bonded over swords, fighting for justice, finding their way, almost anything and everything, before Sokka rubbed his face and groaned at the paint that had appeared on his arm. 

“Wait here, I have to wash my face.” Sokka got up and went down to the shoreline, sighing at the cool water washing down on his face. He thanked La for saving Yue after her sacrifice so she could continue to live in the material world, and hoped Tui would make a speedy recovery. He bowed at the water and the moon reflecting in it, before looking down to his own reflection and the pale glow that was emitting from the lines. 

Before, having a Fire Nation soulmate seemed like the worst possible thing in the world, but now it didn’t seem so bad, especially when they were as attractive as Zuko. Zuko was a great person. He took his sister on a path to find peace from her grief of losing their mom, saved Sokka’s dad and Suki at the prison, he was teaching Aang how to properly firebend, and he was just… a nice guy, a great guy, an  _ attractive  _ guy, one Sokka was  _ definitely  _ not opposed to being matched with. 

But what if Zuko just… didn’t feel the same way? 

It would seem suspicious if he had disappeared for too long, so he carried the weight of his questions up the hill back to Zuko, who was gazing up at the stars. 

“Hey,” he nodded at Sokka, but immediately sat up, “You’re matched?” He said alarmed and in surprise. 

_ No shit you idiot I’m your soulmate.  _

“Uh… yeah.” He said dumbly, not knowing what else to do. 

_ Please don’t ask why I hide it. Please don’t ask why I hide it. _

“Me too.” Zuko said easily, taking off his shoe as Zuko sat next to him on the rock. 

“Huh,” Zuko crossed his eyebrows, hands on the bottom of his foot, “It’s never done that before. 

As Sokka expected there was a water emblem on the balls of Zuko’s right foot, except when it would normally just appear a vibrant blue, the lines and waves of the water were now glowing. 

“The poem never said anything about glowing.” Zuko mumbled, tracing the lines on his foot. 

“What poem?” Sokka asked, this time him being the confused one. 

“‘ _ The soulmate mark combines two as one / Fates conjoined when those first touch / Destiny, a sin to judge / These forever marks, never undone,’  _ ” Zuko looked carefully at Sokka, and reached out a hand to his face. Sokka didn’t pull back when it was pressed to his cheek, rubbing the line of his tattoo that he could see was glowing in his peripheral. 

“Where did you hear that?” Sokka smiled at him, allowing for Zuko to trace his tattoo carefully. 

“An old poem from the Fire Nation we’re no longer allowed to recite. It was apparently engraved in the stone of the mountains that the dragons lived in, the last words spoken to them by the spirit of fire, Agni. Uncle doesn’t believe in banned art, so I heard it almost all of my childhood.” He spread his fingers on Sokka’s skin carefully, before pulling away and staring at his foot again. Sokka knew Zuko was incredibly mad and disappointed in himself for betraying Iroh at Ba Sing Se, and it pained him to see him looking down. 

“ _S_ _ oulmates, a strange thing / Like harmony, voices sing / Fate entwined, like string _ ,” Sokka nudged Zuko shoulder with his, and he looked up. 

“Water Tribe haiku?”

“Nope. On the spot, Sokka poetry!” Zuko smiled at him, a toothy grin that seemed to fit him so well. “You’re lucky Zuko, you just experienced greatness first hand, for free might I add!” Zuko chuckled lightly, and Sokka’s chest filled with  _ something  _ warm. 

“Ah… it's getting late,” Zuko said, getting up after looking at the sky for a while, laying on the rock with Sokka. 

“Wait… Do you know who your soulmate is?” Sokka asked him with a raised brow, holding Zuko’s wrist to stop him as he tried to leave.

“Yeah… you?” Zuko looked like a mix between happy and remorseful, like it was something he was afraid of. 

“Yeah, I do.” Sokka gave him a soft smile, hopefully reassuring him. His hand drifted down from Zuko’s wrist until it fell into his hand, holding it tight. He stood up to face Zuko properly. 

_ Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.  _

“So tell me you idiot. Tell me what you want.” 

“You, Zuko. I want you.”

“I’ve always wanted you.” A whisper, ghosting lips. 


End file.
